One More Minnow Bucket Question

[willsjwills]

If i wanted to take, say 5 dozen crappie minnows night fishing, would a 5 gal. insulated, aerated, bucket do the job?

small buckets seem to have a high mortality rate this time of the year. Thanks.

[shipahoy41]

Forget the minnows. Throw a jig.

If you are determined to use a minnow, the styrofoam buckets keep your minnows colder a lot longer than a plastic bucket. Add aeration and keep them fellars cold. Use ice if needed, but they have to stay cold.

Jigs don't have all that bother and when the Crappies are biting, you won't be wasting time with dead minnows in the summer.

old ship

[creekslick]

Yes it will keep the five dozen minnows. That is the same setup I have. shipahoy41 do you nightstalk?

[yarddog]

Add a little salt and Ice will help.

[gabowman]

5 doz. in a styrofoam minnow bucket did well for me last night...none died but plenty were eaten.:D I also use Mr. Bubbles with the small round airstone and I cut it on to run about half the time I have the minnows in the bucket.

[willsjwills]

I had an old 24qt. ice chest that I added one of those bubbly things to as well as a pump and spray bar. I only tried 4 doz. tonite. Guess that means I'll run out of bait about 11:00.

Yes sir, I cast jigs, too. can't use but one jig pole at a time, though, but I can float about 1/2 doz. minnows while I'm casting.

[wannabe fisherman]

for ice in the bucket use small water bottles frozen. you can find them in a size that works well in any size bucket.

[bama647]

i was wondering what u were up to taking 5 dozon minnows out john but it all clear to me now i like the way you think. ive tried that earlier in the year but the wind allways got the best of me. i might be able to pull that off now at night when the wind is calm, let us know about all those crappie you catch.

[slabbandit]

I like the 11 qt. Cool Bubbles minnow buckets. I have carried as many as a pound all day.

[willsjwills]

the ice chest set-up worked just great. put a bottle of ice in it. added 4doz. shiners, turned on the Mr. Bubbles, and didn't lose a minnow.

the crappie wouldn't co-operate, Bama. They would grab the minnow and just sit there. One even held down the float for about 15 seconds before i set the hook to him. Guess they weren't too hungry. Wouldn't even touch a jig.

thanks for the advice, guys.